Chapter 5

"Oh my gosh, you guys…." Claire said, with both hands placed over her heart. "I didn't-…. You didn't have to do this for me…"

"Of course we did." Eve said cheerily, jumping up and down on her toes in excitement. She was wearing a purple, shiny cone party hat, and looking around the room, so Michael was wearing a silver one and looking behind at Shane, she saw that he was just putting on a green one and holding out a blue one to her. Grinning, she took it from him and slipped it on, feeling silly, but not really caring. Shane kissed her on the cheek and went to stand with Michael and eve, facing her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked around the room, noticing the "Welcome home!" banners and multi-coloured paper chains strung up all over the living room.

"Aww. Don't cry." Shane said, sincerely, gazing at her with his gorgeous brown eyes. She couldn't help it any longer. She flung herself at them, hugging them all as a group. They hugged her back immediately. She shed a single tear, feeling part of the world again. She stepped back after a moment, a large smile on her face.

The party was amazing. It lasted for hours, and yet none of them were tired one bit. They danced, laughed, joked and just generally had a good time. Eve even broke out Twister and Claire laughed as Michael and Shane both ended up falling to the floor in a tangled heap. When Claire and Eve's turn came around, Claire wished she hadn't laughed. It was harder than she remembered from birthday parties when she was 8. Still, she was smaller and more petite than Eve, and ended up winning, which earned her a hug and a quick kiss from Shane. Michael played them a few new songs on his guitar as Claire sat cradled in Shane's lap.

All the laughing came to an abrupt pause as there was an unexpected knock at the door. Claire jumped up from Shane reluctantly, silently volunteering to answer the door. She opened it, still grinning from the latest joke Shane had just told her. The smile immediately left her face as she saw who was at the door. Standing there in a long black leather coat, blending in with the evening darkness was the last person she wanted to see. Oliver. She only had a split second to figure out who it was, because as soon as their eyes met, he threw himself at her, his hand gripping her throat tight enough to cut off her air supply. The force threw her back into the wall behind her, banging her head on the plaster, hard enough to make her go dizzy and for the world to turn black for a second. She blinked, seeing a haze around the edges of her vision. She stared wide-eyed into Oliver's snarling face.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" He bellowed furiously.

Michael was at his back in a split second. He must have been holding a stake at his back because Oliver loosened his grip on Claire's throat, letting her slide back to the ground and land on the floor in a rumpled, gasping heap, clutching her sore throat. Shane came to kneel beside her, taking her up in his arms and rocking back and forth gently.

"Leave Claire alone, Oliver." Michael snarled, still holding the stake point in Oliver's back.

"What do you mean 'supposed to be dead'?" Shane shouted. "Did you do this to Claire?" Fury rose in his eyes, it was all Claire could do to hold his forearm tightly, stopping him from getting up to face off Oliver.

"Of course I did, boy. Are you really that stupid?" Oliver scolded.

Shane tensed, evidently wanting to get up and show Oliver how he felt about that. But he refrained as Claire slid her hand around his waist and looped a finger in his jean's belt loop for good measure, as if tying herself to him.

"What did you do to her?" Michael snarled into Oliver's ear, the anger growing in his face.

"Poisoned her, of course." Oliver said, light-heartedly.

Michael pushed the stake harder, making Oliver wince. "Why?" He demanded.

"Why not?" Oliver grinned.

"You b-…" Michael looked as though he was about to lose his patience and stake him then and there, but Eve put a pale hand silently on his shoulder which made him calm down….a little.

"I poisoned her because I don't like her. It's as simple as that…. And…. It's the perfect way to get to Amelie. To poison her pet. It was a pretty good plan if you ask me… I mean, untraceable poison. I could get used to the twenty-first century." He babbled.

"Well, no one asked you about your plan!" Eve snapped, speaking for the first time. "Amelie's on her w-…" She couldn't finish because the woman herself strode through the still-open doorway, followed by her two guards, who surveyed the area with their sunglass-covered eyes before taking Oliver in an iron hard grip and escorting him out. Amelie put a hand up, signalling the guards to pause. They did.

"I will deal with you later, old friend." She said coldly. Somehow the room felt suddenly about 10 degrees colder. She nodded and the guards took Oliver out into the night, no telling where or what was going to happen to him. Amelie fixed her cold stare on Claire, still cradled in Shane's arms on the floor. "You're alright." She said plainly and turned and left, the door swinging shut behind her.

"That's it? Not even 'Are you alright?' Wow… that woman is cold." Eve complained. Michael put the stake in his back pocket so he could use two hands to hug her. He looked over Eve's shoulder to Claire.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice as angelic and soft as ever.

She nodded in reply, burying her face in Shane's chest.

"I'll take her upstairs." Shane offered, before scooping Claire up in a bridal carry and heading up the stairs. He backed into his room, using his foot to push open the door, and laid her gently on his bed, pulling the covers over her tenderly, leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. She whined as he started to stand up to leave, grabbing the neck of his t-shirt and pulling him towards her. He got the message and climbed over her to slip in bed beside her, circling her in his strong arms, pulling her closer to him, warming her back instantly from the heat that radiated off his chest. The prospect of sleep felt like a distant hope after what had just happened, but Claire was happy just to be held by Shane. Even as he drifted to sleep behind her, she still felt safe and completely protected.

So… here you go; The next chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ I promise I'll get around to updating my other stories, but with the summer holidays and getting ready to go back to school, I've not had the time. So be patient with me :D Thanks guys for all your support, R + R as always, thanks oxoxox